fretless basses

okay..so i have a quistion about fretless basses (i kinda feel like i'm asking what the difference is between j pups and p pups, haha, but oh well). i've noticed with a fretless bass i've played in an old guitar store, the neck (finger/fretboard) was dull and felt to me like the neck of a double bass..wich i liked (it had no fret lines). then a few weeks later my favorite guitar store got a fender fretless bass in (some cheap thing). and when i played it, i noticed the neck (finger/fretboard) was smooth and glossy, and i really disliked it (and it had fret lines). now was the original bass just a very old fretless where the fingerboard was worn down..or are fretless basses sold differnetly, some haveing the double bass like finger board..and some being glossy? if they are sold different, what would you call each difference in finger board? is it just that lined basses are glossy and unlined are double bass like?

okay..so i have a quistion about fretless basses (i kinda feel like i'm asking what the difference is between j pups and p pups, haha, but oh well). i've noticed with a fretless bass i've played in an old guitar store, the neck (finger/fretboard) was dull and felt to me like the neck of a double bass..wich i liked (it had no fret lines). then a few weeks later my favorite guitar store got a fender fretless bass in (some cheap thing). and when i played it, i noticed the neck (finger/fretboard) was smooth and glossy, and i really disliked it (and it had fret lines). now was the original bass just a very old fretless where the fingerboard was worn down..or are fretless basses sold differnetly, some haveing the double bass like finger board..and some being glossy? if they are sold different, what would you call each difference in finger board? is it just that lined basses are glossy and unlined are double bass like?

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First off, if no one has done this already, Welcome to TB!

I'm pretty sure what you're talking about is the difference between a coated, and non-coated fingerboard.

The coated one would be the glossy one you described. The coating is usually on there to protect the wood being that the fingerboard is made of a softer and less durable wood. I'm guessing rosewood?

The non-coated one would be the dull one and odds are it was made of a harder wood (like ebony) and just doesn't need the protection from string wear like a rosewood board does. You can have lines on either kind depending on who makes it.